The Hills of California star Laura Donnelly: ‘These days, being Northern Irish is seen for something in and of itself’
The set and the story oscillate between their gathering in 1976 and their childhood in the 1950s. That’s when Veronica aimed to set them up as the next Andrews Sisters, which stands a real chance when a music mogul rolls into town. The question is, what price are they willing to pay for that shot? The play also has plenty to say about parenting, that highlights parallels between Veronica and Donnelly’s own parents – in Belfast, her mother was a nurse and counsellor and her father a GP.
Having grown up in a risk-averse environment in the North, Donnelly struck her own path as soon as she was able to leave Belfast, studying to be an actor at what is now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Theatre has been her mainstay, not least since 2012, when she met Butterworth while auditioning for The River, the follow-up to his celebrated breakthrough play, Jerusalem.
She says the decision wasn’t down to any bad blood. “I really enjoyed my time on it. I had two babies alongside the two seasons. As a new mother they worked with me and around me, and the rest of the cast are brilliant. I’ve come across people saying that the fandom was too intense for me, which is just not true. I had just artistically moved on. I’m not somebody who enjoys going over old ground, and I like new challenges.
“In terms of actresses, it’s always been that men get to lead the way,” she says. “There have always been fewer really great roles available to women, and historically we’ve had a shorter shelf life. But, thankfully, that is also shifting in the right direction.”